Kuwaiti PM for two-day visit

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and a team of officials are expected in Guyana on Monday for a two-day visit, government sources say.

Nasser is currently on an official tour of the Caribbean and Latin America and was expected in Cuba yesterday.

His visit to Guyana follows Presi-dent Bharrat Jagdeo’s visit to Kuwait in January, when the parties signed two cooperation agreements and a Memo-randum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of official talks. Kuwait News Agency had reported that Minister of Oil and Information Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah signed an agreement to bolster cultural ties between the two countries with Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, while Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shimali and Rodrigues-Birkett signed an agreement on encouraging bilateral investments.

The MoU on political consultations was signed by the Guyanese foreign minister and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah.

Upon his return to Guyana President Jagdeo had disclosed that following a meeting with the Kuwait Fund, Guyana had agreed to do a feasibility study and submit a project proposal for an infrastructure project up to US$10M. He had said infrastructure in the housing sector was likely one of the areas where the funds would be directed.

In February the two countries held a second round of negotiations to finalise an agreement regarding the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion. The double taxation agreement will ensure that no resident of Guyana or Kuwait pays the same taxes twice on remuneration or money which attracts taxation in either country.

Talks on the agreement started in October 2005.